The mushroom called "chicken of the woods" is usually found on the ground and grows on a log or the base of dead trees.  The recently found one growing on top of a broken tree (which I called spider apartment) is a rare case.  I tried to document it by taking shots from multiple angles. 

 Early this morning the blue heron dressed up and waited near the meadow area to serve as my model.  I also found that the dog or fox shaped mushroom near the dam was still there, and seems to grow more hair.  The flowers by the parking lot and the mushrooms on a tree reminded me of the breakfast table at home.

 Recently, a smiling squirrel greeted me, and appeared to desire a few portrait photo shots.  I could not disappoint such an adorable creature!

Near the dam a young green heron was watching fish activity in the water, and allowed me to stay close and take multiple photo shots.  After a while for some reason the fellow seemed to think I was a doctor providing a physical exam.  For twice the bird opened the beak and said "Ahh!" in front of me.  

 To me every day in Brightwood brings a new adventure.  Today there was no exception.  

Yesterday I was informed by Bianca of encountering a Turtlehead plant with a beautiful flower sitting at the shore of the large pond.  The images in the photos Bianca shared with me were amazing, and I could not wait to go to the park to take a direct look.  I am happy to report to you that in addition to the first one, several more of the plant can also be found at the bottom of the erosion area.  

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There was a carnival in the park once recent morning!  The wildlife and the mushrooms presented their feature performances.  Today while many of the characters were still around, the chipmunks and the squirrels decided to offer a talent show of vocal presentations.  Instead of the usual high pitch voice like sopranos or tenors, the chipmunks were singing in bass or alto tones.  When it came to the squirrels' turns, they first sang in a rock-and-roll style, then followed by imitating dog barking.  Both were quite entertaining.

The sound performance continued when I got to the shore of the large pond near the dam, a flock of geese flew by and presented a special but short choir music.

I then went back to the mushroom exhibition place.  This time I climbed onto the huge trunk of the fallen tree to get a better image of the orange-colored mushrooms on the top of the standing part of the tree.  I also stepped back to take shots of the tree to record the locations of the two clustered mushrooms, one on each side of the base of the tree, and the locations of the tiny and cute mushrooms.  Two mushrooms' faces reminded me of Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the favorite comedians of both my dad and me.

While I was on the two-bridge trail, I saw a fresh cluster of soft mushrooms.  A lanternfly also caught my eye.  Fortunately there was only one, and it was easy to take care of.

 Geese have come to the park and seem to enjoy swimming over the layer of duckweeds.  Flowering plants are taking turns to perform in the park.  While the pokeweed is stepping down from the stage, squash, jewelweed, and yellow foxtail take over the show.

 Green herons are frequently seen in the park these days.  They move from one place to the other as they look for fish.  This morning one of them flew from the dam area to the east side and rested on a log down the slope from the two picnic tables.  The bird appeared alert and sober to see the fishing tools nearby.  Meanwhile those tools are also signs of where the fish can be found often.  The bird was more patient than I and stayed there for much longer.

 ​A flock of wood ducks has taken up residence in the small pond.  Yesterday morning, a male and a female were first hanging out together.  The female stood with one leg, as if signaling "not good to be single".  The male then was accompanied by a friend to see a mallard duck.  A moment later, the couple and the mallard duck were positioned like being in a wedding hall.  The mallard duck officiated the ceremony.  Two turtles were the witnesses.  A goose comedian performed a celebration dance.   I, of course, was the official photographer.

 I would like to share with you what I saw in Brightwood Park the first 3 days of September. 

So many mushrooms!  A colony of white-colored mushrooms reminded me of what I saw in petri dishes and under microscopes when I worked in cell biology labs many years ago.  Some were like cells multiplying.  A symmetric pair was like an illustration of cell division in textbooks.  There were also hairy mushrooms near the dam that I found a few days ago.  With some imagination, "Halloween mushrooms" on the trail along Prospect Street wore spooky faces.

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 Greeting mushroom friends has become my daily routine since August 28.  The variety of the creatures were amazing to me.  New ones continued to pop up and made me feel like being in a magic kingdom.  Plants also joined the party by presenting their beautiful flowers and fruits.

Of particular interest are the mushrooms with shapes going beyond common perception of what mushrooms usually appear like.  Next to the hairy mushrooms near the dam, a new one is in the shape like a genie bottle in the Arabian Nights tales.  Another one looked like a tiny beast carrying a baby on the back, and the baby crawled on the head of the mom to explore the world.